This 11th annual census indicates that, after more than 10 years of growth, many characteristics of MPCP (Milwaukee Parental Chide Program) schools are not markedly different from those of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Key findings reported include: (1) Total voucher use grew 5% over last year, the second smallest annual growth since religious…

This article explores the complex dynamics that take place in ultra-Orthodox schools as they attempt to maintain a contra-acculturative stance toward secular knowledge, while providing students with the necessary tools to become functioning members of society. Using two case studies, this article looks at how the recent practice of using Rabbeim…

This article presents the author's response to Joseph Reimer's essay titled, "Beyond More Jews Doing Jewish: Clarifying the Goals of Informal Jewish Education." The author considers herself as the embodiment of an informal Jewish education practitioner now responding to Reimer's educational theory about the work she has spent her adult life…

This article argues that the creation of a range of separate religious schools can prevent integration and encourage separation. It might well be that in fifty years' time, people will look back at this moment and blame us for exacerbating the social fragmentation that characterises modern Britain.

With the help of a relational approach to education in general, this article works out the possibilities and chances of a relational approach to religious education in particular. It argues that such an approach can make an important contribution to religious education in a pluralistic world. In education theory, the relational approach is…

Informal Jewish education can and must put greater focus on the goals of education. While socialization is a key component, it is not its sole goal. Informal Jewish education must make more central deep, serious Jewish learning in which learners can experience moments of transcendence, connection, and transformation. A key to reaching this goal…

The subject of this article is Dutch Jewish education since 1945, attended by some 20% of the Jewish children in the region of Amsterdam. I consider the motives of the advocates of Jewish day schools, for whom the Holocaust was an important argument from a psychological, educational, social and cultural perspective in rejecting multi-religious…

This paper argues that, notwithstanding a few major exceptions, the modern commitment to studying educational thinking and practice in premodern Jewish societies has not been particularly intense, despite widespread agreement as to the importance of education in premodern Jewish life. Some suggestions for this lacuna are discussed in this article.…

Questioning-asking has not only long been seen as a central component of Jewish educational practice but has also been thought to be part of a broader culture of Judaism. In this article, we apply cognitive-developmental theories to advance the discussion of the use of questioning in Jewish education. Such theories allow Jewish educators to more…

Contrary to the view that socialization ought to precede education, in this article the author suggests that social and emotional dimensions are always present in religious, educational, moral, and aesthetic collective experience. In educational settings, socialization is part of the intentional process of creating a community of learners and is…

State religious schooling in Israel constitutes a fascinating setting for examining forces of conformity and resistance. This study, which examines the identity formation of adolescent girls and their teachers in this complex cultural-educational setting during the Al-Aksa Intifada (1999-2002), highlights the complexities of agency within a…

This article presents the author's response to Joseph Reimer's essay titled, "Beyond More Jews Doing Jewish: Clarifying the Goals of Informal Jewish Education." Joseph Reimer states that the challenge for informal education is to move beyond socialization to clarify and achieve "deeper" educational goals. Distinguishing between…

Why has it been so difficult to define the goals of Jewish informal education? Often informal educators define their work in terms of the goals of Jewish socialization. Those terms have worked to attract funders' support, but also limited the educational creativity of this field. This article argues for a dual defining of goals: socialization and…

The following is a translation of the introduction to "Medabrim Chazon" (Jerusalem: Keter, 2006), the Hebrew translation of "Visions of Jewish Education," edited by Seymour Fox, Israel Scheffler, and Daniel Marom (Cambridge, 2003). "Visions of Jewish Education" is an effort by leading scholars to improve the quality…

This article deals with a recurrent situation in congregational schools, in which parents lobby for a reduction in the number of days per week of instruction. Following two similar studies by Joseph Reimer, the article utilizes the theoretical construct of a "social drama" as a frame for the recounting and analysis of a recent occurrence…